TL;DR Alexa will be cloud-only very soon because it'll be powered by an LLM, which is too big to run on a smart speaker.
While the reason you suggest might be a good one, the repercussions of this change are clearly large. Unknowing customers now have their voice recordings sent to the cloud whoch could be leaked, have law enforcement get a warrant to take it from Amazon, or for it to be abused directly by Amazon. Those are huge. They might just have a good scapegoat.
The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
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Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#42If I buy a car and, after a while, the guy who sold me the car comes in the middle of the night and takes the wheels, isn't it theft?
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
ToS have limits, people in a practical sense aren't really able to read and understand the ToS of every product they buy, which means a ToS can only go so far in the ways it allows companies to be predatory against consumers.
Has that been tested in court? I would have thought a user wilfully or negligently misreading a ToS would not be a good legal defence (not that I agree with how I think the law would play out)
> Unless the website operator can show that a consumer has actual knowledge of the agreement, an enforceable contract will be found based on an inquiry notice theory only if: (1) the website provides reasonably conspicuous notice of the terms to which the consumer will be bound; and (2) the consumer takes some action, such as clicking a button or checking a box, that unambiguously manifests his or her assent to those terms.
Its part of why changes of terms generally require you to accept them, before you can continue using a service.
Unambiguous consent, and understanding of consent, are required, as ToS fall under contract law. Which does make most ToS... Unenforceable.
[0] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-cand-4_20-cv-07...
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#44Am I supposed to have sympathy for people who bought a home snooping device now realizing they're going to be snooped on?
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#45Our longstanding privacy commitment with Siri https://www.apple.com/jo/newsroom/2025/01/our-longstanding-p...
As well another one is Siri after 14 years remain not intelligent even with Apple's supposed new Apple Intelligence!
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#46If I buy a car and, after a while, the guy who sold me the car comes in the middle of the night and takes the wheels, isn't it theft?
If you buy the steering wheel of a car and rent the rest of the car and then the owner comes in the middle of the night and takes the wheels, is it theft?
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Has that been tested in court? I would have thought a user wilfully or negligently misreading a ToS would not be a good legal defence (not that I agree with how I think the law would play out)
Yes [0]. > Unless the website operator can show that a consumer has actual knowledge of the agreement, an enforceable contract will be found based on an inquiry notice theory only if: (1) the website provides reasonably conspicuous notice of the terms to which the consumer will be bound; and (2) the consumer takes some action, such as clicking a button or checking a box, that unambiguously manifests his or her assent…
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#48TL;DR Alexa will be cloud-only very soon because it'll be powered by an LLM, which is too big to run on a smart speaker.
It a business decision to use an LLM.
It's a business decision not to beef up the Alexa hardware to support an LLM.
These decisions are weighted against reputational damage by Amazon with the outcome discussed here.
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#49Now would be a good time to have a functional FTC commissioner. Doing a bait and switch like on a product that was sold with a set of features should be illegal. If I buy a car and the sales guy stops by my house the next day to take back the wheels, it would rightfully be seen as ridiculous.
Re: The Alexa feature "do not send voice recordings" you enabled no longer available
#50TL;DR Alexa will be cloud-only very soon because it'll be powered by an LLM, which is too big to run on a smart speaker.
how convenient.